SmithGroupJJR[1] designed Chandler City Hall[2] to provide the City of Chandler[3] with a community center that could generate pride for its citizens. The other design goal was to revitalize the historic downtown by building in an area that was in disrepair. From an environmental standpoint, the design responds to the harsh Arizona desert climate while still providing much-needed outdoor green space in the heart of the downtown area. Finished in October of 2010, Chandler City Hall has been named to the AIA Top Ten list for 2012[4].

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Chandler City Hall[2] is a five-story, 187,000 square-foot office building complex that takes up two city blocks and cost an estimated $47 million to complete. A hinged exterior shading device on the western façade provides shelter from the harsh western sunlight, and at night it turns into an artistic centerpiece. The perforated panels shine during the day as they move due to the wind, and at night LED lights[7] shine through the perforation creating art from the colored light.

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Other sustainable features in the design of the Chandler City Hall include: daylighting, low-flow plumbing fixtures, recycled water for irrigation, energy use reduction, FSC certified wood[9], and sustainable education. The design provides daylighting for 80% of the building, and this among other energy-saving steps helped the project save more than 53% in energy consumption compared to the national average. It also reduces potable water use by 83%, and the “blow-down” water from the cooling towers is recycled for use by the irrigation system. The design team also included a sustainable education tour complete with a book entitled “Sustainable Pathway”, which is complemented by a set of graphic signs through the campus.

This great public building has encouraged the community to take up more sustainable lifestyles through the example it sets and the education that it promotes. It’s a much-needed addition to the Phoenix suburban area, where expansion and wasteful construction has been so prevalent. Chandler City Hall is seeking LEED Gold Certification[10] and will be a welcomed building into the Gold fold.